IRS seizes bank accounts of Sacramento medical marijuana provider

Agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the IRS presented search warrants earlier this week on the El Camino Wellness Center, considered the largest medical marijuana provider in Sacramento.

The seizure of bank accounts, detailed in a sealed affidavit obtained by The Bee, underscores an effort by federal authorities to crack down on California medical marijuana dispensaries by employing laws traditionally used to target money transfers by narcotics traffickers.

El Camino Wellness Center opened in 2008 and last year became the first Sacramento dispensary issued a permit under a city regulatory program for medical marijuana outlets. The city is still collecting voter-approved taxes on local dispensaries, amounting to $1.1 million between July 2011 and March of this year.